Always Be Mine
by BlytheConner1
Summary: This story starts in Season 3, after Gideon leaves, but before Rossi arrives on the scene. Emily never had an abortion, but her mother took her child and gave her away. Emily is going to meet her for the first time as the young woman finally finds her mom. Emily confides in Derek and their relationship goes to the next level, but JJ is...jealous?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Though I love these characters dearly, I do not own them or the TV show Criminal Minds.**

Emily Prentiss sat at her desk, smiling happily and watching the hustle and bustle of the agents around her going about their day. She hadn't been at the BAU very long, but she already felt like she was becoming a part of a family. A very diverse family who spent their days catching serial killers and their nights trying not to think about crime scene photos, but a family just the same.

The team had returned to Quantico this morning from a case in Texas and gone right to work at the BAU, writing reports and going through case files. Thankfully, the abduction case had ended happily, with all of the children returned to their families unharmed. Spirits were high, considering the unlikelihood of a case going so well, with no casualties. They all knew that this was a rare one and were determined to enjoy it, riding this high as long as possible before JJ presented them with the next case.

The young agent and communications liaison looked down into the bullpen, laughing at her friends' 'basketball game.' Reid, Morgan, and Garcia all sat in office chairs with a pile of neon post-its. They would spin in the chairs and then throw the wadded up post-it balls into the trash can across from them. Whoever had the most post-it balls in their designated color that made it into the trash can before Hotch came down and ended their game would be deemed the winner. Whoever had the least would be paying for the first round of drinks later.

JJ was pleased to see her friends enjoying themselves, especially Reid, who had taken the recent loss of Jason Gideon from their team quite hard. She figured it would be awhile before Hotch interrupted; he was proud of their work on this last case and quite pleased with the outcome. She decided to take a break before deciding on a new case. Everyone deserved it. JJ noticed Emily sitting alone at her desk and was concerned, as Emily seemed to be lost in her own world. Garcia had just come dangerously close to falling off her spinning chair into Emily, but the newest BAU member hadn't blinked an eye.

JJ headed down to the bullpen to check on her friend. She absolutely loved Emily and they had grown to be pretty close friends in the time since Emily had been here. JJ smiled to herself, realizing it had been almost a year. Typically, new BAU agents needed much longer to prove themselves, but Emily was easily a member of the family by now.

JJ approached Emily's desk and sat on the edge.

"Hey Em, you okay?"

"Oh, hey," Emily snapped out of it and smiled up at JJ. "Yeah, just thinking."

"You wanna talk about it?" JJ asked.

"It's nothing, JJ," Emily sounded sincere. "Just glad to be here."

JJ smiled back and leaned over to squeeze her friend's hand, but was stopped cold when a post-it hit her in the face. Emily burst out laughing.

"Hey!" JJ yelled to the others in mock anger.

"Ladies, you better get over here and start playing with us or one of you is gonna be buying us drinks!" Morgan yelled back.

The girls laughed and pulled chairs over to the others, knowing that opportunities to laugh and play didn't come often in this job.

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews and input. You will start to catch on to what's up with JJ pretty soon :)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds or it's characters, but I do own Callum Gray, Jazzlyn Gray, and Luis Romero.**

Hotch came out of his office, causing the younger agents in the bullpen to freeze and try to stifle their laughter. He shook his head, enjoying their antics and sad to have to do this to them.

"Guys, we have a case," he called down to them. "I just got a call."

The others looked at JJ for confirmation, but she shook her head, not knowing what case Hotch was referring to. They all soberly headed up to the conference room and took their places at the round table. After they were all settled, Hotch directed their attention to a picture of a very familiar child on the big screen.

"Don't we know him?" Garcia asked, confused.

"This is Callum Gray, son of Jazzlyn Gray and Luis Romero. He is five years old and has been missing since yesterday," Hotch began.

"Wait," Derek interrupted. "THE Jazzlyn Gray?"

"And THE Luis Romero?" JJ added.

"That's how we know him!" Garcia exclaimed.

"Yes, the Hollywood actors," Hotch told his agents. "And the LAPD has no leads, that's why they've called us in."

"It isn't a serial abduction?" Emily asked.

"No," Hotch clarified. "But all hell can break loose in Hollywood if this isn't handled correctly. These are good people who love their son."

The other agents nodded in agreement. Jazzlyn Gray was a huge movie actress and her husband, Luis Romero, was on a popular procedural crime drama. They were very involved in charities and had adopted children as well.

"Wheels up tomorrow morning," Hotch announced. "We need a night off to enjoy ourselves and a good night's sleep."

That night, everyone went out together, including Hotch. The younger agents tried to refrain from their typical alcohol intake in Hotch's presence, knowing they had to be up bright and early to leave for California. Reid, Garcia, JJ and Emily sat at a table with Hotch, sipping beers and making conversation about Jack.

Derek was doing his usual thing on the dance floor, surrounded by women looking at him in adoration. JJ watched him and determined to have a few more hours of fun before starting another case, she pulled Emily and Penelope out onto the floor, leaving Reid alone with Hotch. Derek smiled, happy to see his girls coming to join him, and moved away from the desperate women surrounding him. He grabbed Garcia's hand and spun her around, glad to see her having so much fun. The four of them danced together for awhile, until Garcia claimed exhaustion and JJ went for another drink.

"You can go back to your lady friends," Emily told Derek.

"The only lady I want to dance with is you, Agent Prentiss," Derek said smoothly, wrapping his arm around Emily's waist to keep her from going anywhere.

Emily's cheeks flushed, but she tried to remind herself how flirtatious Derek was with every woman he met. She was no one special. She couldn't help but feel special, though, as the deejay slowed it down and Derek danced with her for three more songs. They were interrupted when JJ cut in.

"Taking all my dances, Em?" she laughed, grabbing Derek's hand as a faster song started up.

Emily felt a little frustrated, but brushed it off and smiled at her friend.

"Have at it," she told JJ, leaving the dance floor.

Emily reached her apartment door an hour later and suddenly got the feeling someone was behind her. She put her hand on her gun, turning quickly and raising her Glock 19.

"Wait!" a small voice called out. "What are you doing?"

Emily studied the figure she now faced. It was a young girl, most likely a teenager, with long dark hair in two braids.

"What am I doing?" Emily asked the girl, still not lowering her gun. "You snuck up behind me, late at night, in front of my door."

"I'm sorry," the girl said, her voice trembling. "Are you Emily Prentiss?"

The girl was tiny, wearing a tank top and short denim shorts, obviously not carrying a weapon. Emily slowly placed her gun back in it's holster.

"Depends who's asking," she said.

"I'm your daughter."

**A/N: So now you have officially met Emily's daughter. What's going on with Em, Derek, and JJ? Keep reading to find out! And please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"You're my what?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"Daughter," the girl said louder.

"I don't have a daughter," Emily said firmly.

"So you didn't have a baby twenty-two years ago? One that you gave away?" the girl was almost angry now, as if Emily was choosing to abandon her all over again.

Emily tried a different approach. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Lauren Elaine Prentiss," the girl answered slowly.

Emily's breath caught in her throat, surprised to hear the exact name she'd given her newborn daughter over two decades ago, before her own mother made sure she'd never see the little girl again.

"Prentiss?" she asked. "I figured they would have changed your last name."

"It's been a few different things, but I had it legally changed back to Prentiss when I was eighteen. It was the name on my birth certificate, which is how I knew to start looking for you," Lauren explained. "Who is this 'they' you refer to?"

"Your parents," Emily said softly.

"Parents?" Lauren scoffed. "The only parent I have is you, if you even want to call yourself that."

"Sh-she told me you were being adopted by a couple she knew," Emily almost pleaded. "My mother told me you were going to have a family."

"I've had more 'families' than I can count," tears were in Lauren's eyes. "You were my last shot, but I see now that was a mistake."

"Lauren, no, please believe me. I thought I was doing what was best for you. My mother told me so many things and I was only a child, I knew nothing other than to trust her."

"Must have been nice," Lauren turned away," to have a mother to put your trust in. I sure never have."

Emily caught Lauren's arm as she tried to walk away. "Come inside. Please."

Lauren reluctantly followed Emily into her apartment. Emily noticed the girl was shivering, so she got her some sweats from her bedroom and pointed Lauren toward the bathroom. She went to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee, pouring them each a cup. Lauren came out and took her coffee gratefully.

"I'm just going to make a quick phone call," Emily excused herself.

She headed for the bathroom inside her bedroom, closed the door and sank onto the floor. Though she had always secretly longed to meet her daughter, the chances of it actually happening had seemed very slim. Elizabeth Prentiss had made sure that her daughter thought the girl was safe and happy, better off never knowing Emily existed. She was hurt and confused by all the lies, but first she had to make sure this was real. She dialed Garcia's number, hoping she hadn't gone to bed yet.

"Emily?" Garcia answered on the first ring. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry, Garcia, I know it's late. I just really need you to do something for me," Emily explained.

**A/N: Sorry it was short, longer chapter next time. Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter, I just wanted to get one published quick! But I'm working on the next one right now, so it will be up soon. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

"Oh, okay," Garcia wasn't convinced. "What is it, Em?"

"I need you to run a check for me," Emily told her. "Can you do it from home?"

"You know I can," Garcia giggled. "What kind of check?"

"I need you to find someone for me and tell me what you know about them. If she's in the system, I need to know who else matches her DNA," Emily's voice lowered to a whisper.

"Sure thing, Em. Why are you whispering?" Something dawned on Garcia. "Are you being held hostage!?" she yelled.

"No, Garcia, nothing like that," Emily assured her. "The name I need you to look up is Lauren Prentiss. She probably would have had a different last name if she was in the system. I don't know what it would be."

"Okay," Garcia typed some things into the laptop she kept beside her bed, the one that accessed databases that she should have only been able to access from her office at the BAU. "Lauren Prentiss…Are you looking for a long lost cousin or something?"

"Or something," Emily muttered.

"Okay, love, I've got a Lauren Prentiss, age twenty-two. Formerly known as Lauren Prescott, but born Lauren Prentiss. Her birth records are sealed so I'd have to do a little more work there. She entered into the foster care system in New York City when she was only a few days old. Bounced around in many foster homes until the age of fifteen, when she was placed in a juvenile detention center. She was released on her eighteenth birthday and has been in the wind ever since, with the exception of getting her name changed back to Prentiss a few weeks after she was released."

"Juvie?" Emily gasped. "What for?"

"Seems like a bunch of little things," Garcia answered. "Drug possession, public intoxication, shoplifting, a minor assault charge."

Emily was silent.

"Oh, and the DNA," Garcia added. "Her closest match in the system is…"

"Garcia?"

"It's you, Emily. What's going on here?"

"Garcia, you can't tell anyone else," Emily pleaded.

"Of course not," Garcia said slowly.

"Lauren is my daughter," Emily said.

"I caught on to that, Agent Prentiss," Garcia's voice had an unfamiliar tone. "But you have a daughter? Why didn't you say anything? And why didn't you know anything about her?"

Emily started to cry. "I was fifteen, Garcia. We were in Italy, I was having a rough time, I made a lot of mistakes. The Ambassador was not thrilled. She wanted me to have an abortion, but I refused. So we hid my pregnancy and she told me a nice couple she knew wanted Lauren, that they could give her a good life. I didn't know what to do other than trust my mother. Obviously, I shouldn't have, because here we are. She just showed up at my apartment, PG."

"Wow," Garcia said. "Well, I suppose we have a lot to talk about, but right now you should probably get back to your mini-me."

"You saw her picture?" Emily asked.

"It wasn't a question, Em," Garcia said softly, looking again at the picture of the girl on her computer screen. "I'll see you in the morning, love."

Emily stared at her phone for a few minutes after Garcia hung up. Then she dialed another number. It was time to talk to the Ambassador.

**A/N: Please review. Let me know what you think about what's happening AND what you think should happen.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: It's kind of short, but I know a lot of you were anxious to hear the phone call with the Ambassador. Another chapter should be up later today. Hope you enjoy!**

Her mother didn't answer the first call, but Emily wasn't giving up that easily. The woman finally answered Emily's third call.

"Elizabeth Prentiss," Emily's mother had a phone voice, even at three in the morning.

Emily's plan was to calmly discuss this matter with her mother like an adult. That didn't happen.

"How could you do this?" she yelled into the phone.

"What?" Elizabeth asked innocently. "Who is this?"

"You know good and well who the hell I am!" Emily snapped.

"Emily? Darling, what is it? Is this an emergency?" irritation started to peek through Elizabeth's voice.

"Of course not, Mother," Emily said coldly. "I called you in the middle of the night for a friendly chat."

"Emily, if you have something to talk about, please get on with it," Elizabeth was just plain annoyed by now.

"Why did you lie to me about Lauren?" Emily demanded to know.

"Lauren?" Elizabeth faked confusion. "Wasn't that your name when you were in—"

"My daughter, Mother," Emily interrupted. "Lauren. The baby you forced me to give away to a 'good family' and refused to let me see, even in pictures. The young woman who showed up at my apartment tonight asking why I didn't bother to have anything to do with her while she was living in foster homes or spending her teenage years in juvie. Lauren Prentiss, your granddaughter. Ring any bells?"

"She came to your house? She had no right to—"

"Are you KIDDING me right now? SHE didn't have a right? Mother, you had no right to take my child and you had no right to give her away and now you are responsible for every terrible thing that's happened to her. Do you realize that?" Emily tried to hold back tears.

"I-I'm sorry, Emily," Elizabeth actually sounded sincere. "You were just a child and I was doing what I thought was in your best interest."

"No, Mother," Emily ranted. "You were doing what was in your best interest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go try to convince my twenty-two year old daughter that I didn't abandon her."

"Let me talk to her," Elizabeth said, but Emily punched the end button on her phone.

Excuses and lies were all she'd ever gotten from the Ambassador. There was no time left to make it up to her or Lauren now. Emily gathered her courage and got up off the floor, making her way back to the living room. Lauren was on the couch, asleep. She grabbed the comforter off of her bed and tucked it over her daughter's thin frame. Exhausted, Emily knew she should get some sleep before flying off to a new case in a few hours, but the thought of leaving her daughter alone in this room after she'd left her alone her whole life was unbearable. She also wasn't sure what the girl had been thinking when she fell asleep; she could have been planning to take off the minute Emily went to bed.

Emily put a large vase in front of the front door. It was heavy and she knew if Lauren decided to leave in the night and she had accidentally fallen asleep, she would hear the vase dragging across the wood floor. She grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and wrapped herself up in the leather recliner. Emily's eyes glazed over as she stared at the clock, but she never fell asleep. When it was seven, she climbed out of the chair and stumbled over to the couch to wake Lauren. She gently shook the sleeping girl's shoulder. Lauren woke up quickly, looking terrified at first, but calmed down when she saw Emily.

"Morning," Emily whispered with a smile.

"Hey, Emily," Lauren said back. "You kickin' me out?"

"What?" Emily asked in confusion. "Of course not. I do have to go to California this morning for a case, though, so I'll be gone a few days. You should stay here, take my room. We'll catch up and figure things out as soon as I get back."

"A case?" Lauren asked, then remembered what she'd found out about her mother. "Oh right, FBI. So then I'm sure you know about my juvenile record by now? And you're going to let me stay in your apartment alone?"

"You're my daughter," Emily told the girl. "I have no reason not to trust you. I've got to go get ready for work."

She headed for her bedroom to shower and dress, hoping that her instincts were right and that she could trust Lauren. By the time she finished blow drying her hair and putting on her makeup, it was already past eight. The jet was leaving at nine, with or without her, and Hotch may just have her job if it were the latter. She hurried into the kitchen and scribbled down her cell number, then took the paper to Lauren, who was still sitting on the couch in a daze.

"My cell," she told her daughter. "Call me if you need anything at all. Don't forget to lock the door behind you when you come in and reset the alarm when you leave. I wrote the code on here too. Don't lose it."

She kissed the girl's forehead a little awkwardly.

"See you in a few days. I'll call to check in," Emily headed for the door, moving the vase.

"Emily?" Lauren called out.

"Yeah?" Emily asked her, almost expecting some kind of thank you.

"I may not be here when you get back."

**A/N: Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for your reviews :) This is just a short one to set up the case, but next chapter, Emily will talk to Derek about Lauren.**

Emily reached the airstrip just in time and was the last to board the jet. She got a few strange looks that were not unexpected, as she was usually one of the first to arrive anywhere. No one said anything though, and she took a seat quietly as the jet took off for Los Angeles.

Emily thought back to what Lauren had said when she was leaving the apartment and she really hoped the girl had been bluffing. Her daughter had been on her mind all the time since the day she was born. She had never expected they would meet and certainly not like this. Losing her so soon after meeting her would devastate Emily. She needed the chance to get to know Lauren. She wanted nothing more than to get that second chance to be a mother to her daughter. She took a deep breath and allowed her thoughts to leave her as she lay down on the couch in the jet and drifted off to sleep.

"She looks exhausted," JJ's voice floated above Emily's head a while later. "I don't want to wake her."

"Hey, Princess," Derek's hand gripped Emily's arm. "Rise and shine."

Emily sat up too quickly, her head spinning. She pressed her fingers against her temple, trying to ease the pressure. JJ quickly handed her a water bottle and some aspirin.

"Late night, Prentiss?" she asked, her voice cool.

"Very," Emily nodded, tossing back the pills and missing JJ's tone.

They reconvened in an LAPD conference room, where JJ shared the details of the case she had gone over on their flight.

"Callum was taken from the park near the family's house on Thursday afternoon. He was in the care of the nanny, who also had two of the other children with her at the time. She said that one of the other kids fell down and she went to tend to his scraped knee. When she looked up a few minutes later, Callum was gone. Though we are way past the twenty-four hour mark, LAPD has every reason to believe that Callum is alive. The family received a ransom note taped to their front door presumably not long before or after the unsub took Callum. They have also received several phone calls from the unsub since the abduction, but the guy isn't demanding money. He is asking for fame. He claims that Luis Romero is an unfit father and husband, as well as a terrible actor. He is basically asking to take Romero's place in exchange for Callum being returned to Jazzlyn Gray."

"That's not exactly uncommon in Hollywood. Celebrity stalkers usually want fame or to be noticed by the object of their affection," Reid stated. "They will do anything to get into their lives. It's likely that the unsub only took Callum to get Jazzlyn's attention. He's probably been stalking her for years."

"Reid's right. JJ, start working on a press release. The unsub will be following the news closely and needs to know that Jazzlyn has noticed him and only wants her son back safely. Rossi and I will talk to the nanny. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a neutral location set up for you to talk with Jazzlyn, Luis, and the other children. Find out if they saw anything strange in the days leading up to Callum's abduction. Get a statement from Jazzlyn to give to JJ. We don't want her appearing in public just yet. Reid, contact Jazzlyn's people, her manager, agent, fan club president, assistant. Set up interviews, get with Garcia to do background checks, ask them about any stalkers Jazzlyn may have had in the past. We will check up on Luis too, but this stalker seems focused on her."

**A/N: Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for your reviews! This one is kind of short, but the next chapter will definitely be longer. **

Derek and Emily pulled up to the large office building that would serve as the neutral location where they would interview Callum's family. Emily took her time getting out of the SUV and Derek could tell the woman was exhausted. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor and approached the meeting room, where Emily hesitated, leaning against the wall and yawning.

"You okay to do this, Prentiss?" Derek asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good, Emily answered quickly. "Just didn't get any sleep last night.

Emily managed a wink at Derek. As much as he hoped she was only this off her game over a man, he also felt a twinge of jealousy that she'd met someone after he'd left the bar last night. He pushed that thought away fast; Emily was his partner and close friend, but nothing more. They found the right door, which was guarded by a huge man, likely part of Jazzlyn's personal security detail. They showed him their credentials and were ushered into the room where Jazzlyn Gray and Luis Romero sat with their three younger children. Emily seemed to have forgotten everything she was supposed to say or ask. Derek figured she was a little starstruck and took the lead, having no problem introducing himself to THE Jazzlyn Gray.

"Ms. Gray, Mr. Romero, I'm Agent Derek Morgan and this is Agent Prentiss. As I'm sure you know, we're from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. We're here to get your son back. We just have a few questions to ask."

"Thank you," Jazzlyn said, barely above a whisper, her tearstained face still as beautiful as ever.

"We have reason to believe that Callum was taken to get your attention," Derek told the young movie star. "He obviously wants Mr. Romero out of the way and believes he belongs with you and the kids. Can you think of anyone you've come in contact with, in person or through fan mail, who might have mentioned anything like that?"

Jazzlyn gave them names and information she had on a few of her more prominent stalkers. Emily found her voice and spoke to the children about anything they might have seen that day at the park, but their young ages made it mostly pointless. The four-year-old girl, Tizzy, had seen the man take her brother and tried her best to describe him. Derek asked Luis is he had any enemies that might want to hurt his family to get to him, but there seemed to be nothing beyond the usual jealousy of his successful TV show. They stood to leave, having got all they could for now.

"Agents, I deal with cases like this all the time on my show and I have a script that tells me how to deal with it and how to find missing children. Nothing could have prepared me for this," Luis Romero called after them, choked up. "Please bring our boy back to us."

"We will do everything in our power, sir," Emily told him, and the pair set off for their SUV.

"Emily, I need you to talk to me," Derek said after a few minutes of driving. "I know you don't trust anyone, but I put my life in your hands on an almost daily basis, and I have never given you a reason not to trust me. Neither has anyone else on this team. We're your family, Prentiss, and when something is going on with you, we deserve to know about it so that we can help you."

"I told you, Derek, it's nothing. Last night I just—" Emily started to say.

"Don't tell me this is about some guy because I know that's just a cover. I know you better than that, Emily," Derek interrupted.

Emily paused for a minute before saying, "I just can't."

Derek slammed his hand on the steering wheel in frustration, but let it go for the rest of the drive to the precinct.

**A/N: Let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I love hearing your thoughts. I realize that I talked in the first chapter about Gideon leaving and then just wrote Rossi in the last few chapters and didn't really transition it...just pretend it happened :)**

"The unsub we're looking for is an Hispanic male in his mid to late twenties," Hotch began delivering the profile to the LAPD gathered in the large room. "He is good-looking, fit and charming. He looks harmless to children."

"He may look harmless, but he's far from it. His life is one big delusion. It's likely that he's been institutionalized before, probably as an adolescent," Morgan added.

"He has a hard time separating his delusion from reality. In this case, he believes that Jazzlyn Gray knows who he is and wants to be with him. He will do anything to make that possible," Reid pointed out.

"His obsession with Jazzlyn will turn dangerous. He has taken Callum for now to get her attention, but if he believes that his plan isn't working, he will try to eliminate anything standing in his way. He will kill the boy to hurt Jazzlyn and then go after Luis Romero. As long as he believes Jazzlyn is interested in giving up her family to be with him, Callum will be safe," Emily said.

"Look for guys who have had recurring, but menial, roles in Jazzlyn's life. Assistants, old camera crew, anyone who works for her fan club. Someone who has been around her multiple times, but that she would pay no special attention to. He has written her, sent her gifts. His family and friends will know about his obsession. He likely does a lot of temp jobs like the one I mentioned, trying to get close to her," Rossi finished.

After delivering the profile, the team headed to their hotel for the night to get some rest. Emily was exhausted, but she knew she'd need a little something to help her sleep. She went to her room and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, then headed for the hotel bar. There was only one other person siting at the bar, an older businessman. She ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.

"Keep them coming," she told the bartender, who nodded as if he could tell she needed it.

Emily wasn't sure how long she sat there and drank alone before her partner showed up. She wasn't at all surprised. He knew her too well.

Derek ordered a beer and stared at his partner for a few minutes. He figured she was on her fourth or fifth Long Island, which for Emily Prentiss, meant almost nothing except that she was a little less guarded than usual. He'd come at the right time, too many and she'd be a downright mess, only wanting to cry or do something reckless or sleep.

"So, what is it Prentiss?" he asked carefully.

"I have a daughter," she answered matter-of-factly.

There it was. Her fifth drink was like a truth serum. Derek knew he had to approach this in a smart way. No reacting, just facts.

"How old is she?" he asked.

"Twenty-two," Emily kept her voice void of all emotion.

"How old were you?" Derek tried to hide his shock.

"Fifteen," she answered.

"Where has she been?" he asked.

"Foster homes. Juvenile detention center," Emily answered.

"Did you know?" Derek asked.

"My mother told me she knew a good family that wanted her. I thought she was there this whole time," she explained.

"When did you find out?" he questioned her further.

"Last night. She showed up at my apartment. I had Garcia run a check to be sure," Emily downed the last half of her sixth drink.

"What's her name?" Derek asked after a long pause.

"Lauren," Emily answered. "Lauren Elaine Prentiss. I have a daughter and I abandoned her."

"It's not your fault," Derek said, realizing Emily was getting to that other side of feeling good. Or as good as Emily Prentiss could feel. "I'll walk you to your room."

Emily didn't complain, just took Derek's hand and let him lead her to her room. She fumbled with her key card but got it after a second.

"Need any help?" Derek asked, a little too hopeful.

"No, thank you, Derek," Emily said softly.

He wrapped his arms around her and she tensed up, but after a few seconds relaxed, surprised at how good it felt to be held in the arms of her big, strong protector. Emily hadn't felt that since...well, a while back. But she was no damsel in distress and she pulled away quickly and bid him goodnight, closing the door and locking the deadbolt. Emily searched for the aspirin in her bag and took four, downing a bottle of water with it. She had to be prepared to get back to work early in the morning. She slid off her shoes and climbed into the bed with her jeans and sweatshirt still on. She was asleep seconds later.

**A/N: Let me know what you think! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, so not a super long chapter but it's been awhile since I posted one and I needed to rehash kind of everyone's state of mind. So hope you enjoy and keep reading! Please review**!

It didn't seem like long at all before there was loud knocking on the door of Emily's hotel room. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed, swinging the door open after seeing it was JJ.

"We need to talk," JJ announced, pushing past Emily into the room.

"Uh, okay," Emily was startled. "What about?"

"What's going on with you and Derek?" JJ asked, an accusing look in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Emily was surprised.

"I saw you two last night," JJ said.

"You saw us what? At the bar? We just had a few drinks..." Emily explained.

"I saw you two holding hands walking to your room. And then you holding on to him like he was a long lost lover or something," JJ retorted.

"I was drunk. He helped me back to my room, that's all," Emily explained.

"I don't believe you," JJ said, squinting at her friend.

"Fine, don't," Emily snapped. "I need to get ready."

"Em, don't be mad. I know something's up with you. Whether it's about Derek or something else, I know you. I only ask because I care about you," JJ said.

"Ok," Emily said slowly. "I just don't want to talk about it right now. We have a child celebrity to save."

JJ left the room to let Emily get ready for the day. Later, Emily walked out of her hotel room to see her partner standing in the hallway.

"What are you doing?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Just waiting for you," Derek said uneasily.

"Why?"

"Emily, do you remember what you told me last night?"

"Of course I do, Derek," Emily answered, annoyed.

"Do you regret telling me?" he asked.

"I didn't until now," Emily rolled her eyes.

Derek ignored her response and surprised Emily with a tight hug.

"You could've told us," he whispered. "We're your family. You know that, right?"

"I do," Emily replied, pulling away. "We've got work to do."

Derek followed her to the SUV and they made their way back to the police station. Hotch informed them that Jazzlyn wanted to be a part of the press conference and even had an idea of who the unsub might be. Emily and Morgan were a little suspicious that Jazzlyn had no ideas about the kidnapper the day before and now she thought she knew who it was. JJ had helped the actress with her speech for the press conference and was confident that it would be effective. Everyone finished the final preparations and Emily found a chance to sneak away. She ducked into a bathroom and dialed the number for the eleventh time since they'd landed in LA. Still no answer. Emily was beginning to panic. Surely Lauren wouldn't disappear from her life so soon after dropping into it. Right? Emily dialed a different number.

"Queen Penolope, at your service," came the answer on the other line.

"Garcia, hey, I need a favor," Emily said hurriedly.

"Another secret kid?" Garcia snorted at her own joke.

"Funny, PG," Emily laughed a little, "but this is about the one I've already got."

"Lauren? Is she okay?"

"I hope so, but she won't answer my calls. Could you go to my apartment and check on her?"

"Of course, Em. I'll call you back."


End file.
